There and back again

The last few days have been beautiful here.  Cold, yes. But lovely.  On these clear, cold mornings the first thing I see when I look out the window is the snowy Olympic Range.  I never get tired of it.

This morning, I stood and watched as the mountains turned from pink to white as the sun came up.  The moon was still high in the sky.  Breathtaking.

Byron had a view of different mountains this week.  He was in Switzerland.  Plus, he got to see every mountain range between here and Switzerland from the air.  Pretty cool.

Byron was traveling on business.  Not typical for him, but a neat opportunity to work with European colleagues.  I think he spent more time in the air than on the ground this week (maybe not quite).  We managed to FaceTime so Byron could get his Wyatt fix and so we could keep up with his goings and comings and what he was finding to eat in local restaurants.  It seems the Swiss do potatoes lots of ways.

As you can deduce, Byron's trip meant a new adventure for me, too.  Since Tuesday, I've been a single parent.  Wyatt's pretty easy, as kids go, so it wasn't bad.  That said, I hadn't showered since Wednesday because I couldn't find that much time to myself. Some things just fall by the wayside when you're always "on" I guess! 

But after basically 24 hours of flying this week, Byron came home to us today.  He and Wy are tucked into bed snoring even as I write this.  Tired but oh so glad to be home -- and to have him home.

Wyatt and I had some adventures, ourselves, while he was away.  We walked around Green Lake with Dawn and Gussie.  Had a play date with two of Wy's favorite girls. Took in the sights and lights of downtown, doing errands and getting a hair cut (me, not Wyatt).  Had dinner with our friends, the Zs.  Visited the zoo.  Made a trip to Trader Joe's . . . you get the idea.  Big, big adventures.  In truth, whether we went anywhere or not (and Wednesday we did not for most of the day), I found the few days of single parenthood to be a new challenge.

I'm a bit of a worrier, truth be told.  I didn't sleep quite as well being the only one in bed with Wyatt -- or being in the house alone (technically, Byron's dad was downstairs and that helped somehow).

Although I always spend my days with Wyatt, these days felt different somehow.  I knew Byron was a long way off, that he wasn't able to drop what he was doing and meet me at the emergency room, if necessary.  This week he wasn't 30 minutes away, he was a good two days out.

Okay, so nothing bad happened.  Wyatt even got more baths than I did.  I guess my point here, if there is one, is that things (and especially parenting) are easier knowing that you have the possibility of help and that you aren't in it alone.

This week, as much as I felt Byron's absence, I also felt the presence of my extended community -- friends, family, neighbors -- to whom we are special (and they to us).  People in my corner.  The numbers in my iphone "favorites list." Those who would drop everything to help if we needed it.  You know who you are.  Thanks for being there.  I knew I could call you if I needed to.

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